Fly-half Ford set to move up a gear at Saints
New Saints fly-half Joe Ford says he is looking forward to learning from former England 10 Paul Grayson.
Ford is one of three youngsters to join Franklin's Gardens from Leeds and at just 19 is rated as one of the most exciting talents in the country.
The Oldham-born ace will have a job pushing his way past Stephen Myler and Shane Geraghty into the Saints number 10 shirt, but with both likely to be on England and Saxons duty at some stage in the season, Ford's chance will come.
The lure of working with Grayson is believed to have been a key factor in Ford joining Saints.
Assistant coach Grayson, who won 32 caps for England, has helped propel Myler into a regular England Saxons player and Ford is aiming to follow the same path.
"He's been great with me and I'm looking forward to learning more from him," said Ford.
"We sat down for a chat about what we want and then we've had a few skills and kicking sessions as well.
"My goal is to keep working hard and to get in the best shape I can, and then obviously to get myself into the team.
"It's not going to be easy. The two 10s in front of me are really good and are internationals. That's the challenge but it's something I'm looking forward to."
A sound goal-kicker, Ford, son of England defence coach Mike Ford, made an instant impact with a man-of-the-match performance on his Leeds debut against Leicester and younger brother George in the LV= Anglo-Welsh Cup last season.
If Ford is to force his way into the Saints side, he knows he will need to be in tip-top condition, something performance director Nick Johnston will no doubt make sure of.
"We didn't do any hills at Leeds last year, but we've been doing them twice a week here," said Ford, who made 13 appearances for Leeds last season before signing for Saints. "That's tough in itself, but we've also been doing three sessions a day. The heat's added to it, but you can't complain about that when you're outside.
"So it's been tough, to say the least, but I've been enjoying it and it's been beneficial.
"The lads have been good and friendly and I've settled in very well. There are a few guys like Greig Tonks, Scott Armstrong and Calum Clark who are pretty young, which is good, and obviously some guys who aren't so young!"
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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